Reasons: A Sequel to Determination
by Gumnut
Summary: "Have you seen Virgil?" Sequel to an episode tag. Possible spoilers for 3.24 & 3.25. You will need to read 'Determination' before reading this or it will make no sense.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Reasons: A Sequel to Determination

Author: Gumnut

10 - 20 Feb 2020

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: "Have you seen Virgil?"

Word count: 7429

Spoilers & warnings: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3 EPISODE 24, and possibly 3.25

Timeline: Episode Tag

Author's note: This one is complete and I am uploading as I proof it. It was written very fast at odd hours and in odd places, so it needs a good read-through. Yet another fic that got out of control and a sequel that is over twice as long as the original. You will need to read 'Determination' for this to make sense.

Many thanks to scribbles97 and thunderstorm-bay for their support of my crazy. I hope you all enjoy this :D

Disclaimer: Mine? You've got to be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.

-o-o-o-

He would have liked to say it was intuition that clued him in, but it was Kayo.

"Have you seen Virgil?"

Scott climbed out of the Zero-XL superstructure and looked down at his sister. She had a worried frown on her face.

"Isn't he with Brains?"

"No. I can't find him on the platform anywhere. And he is not answering his comms."

It was late in the day, the day before the launch. Everyone was buzzing, Scott in particular. He was so close. Tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

"Did he go back to the Island?" Kayo was obviously grasping at straws because there was no way Virgil was going to cut out early on this project. The man had been working as hard as Brains to get this off the ground, his mechanical and engineering skills deployed between rescues at a rate that was it any other project, Scott would have been alarmed.

But this project was special.

Scott grabbed his tablet. "He's supposed to be helping Brains with the launch thrusters."

"He's not. Brains hasn't seen him for the last two hours."

"Then where is he?"

"That was my question."

Scott sighed. They really didn't have time for this. If Virgil was flouting his...aw, c'mon, this was Virgil they were talking about.

But why would the engineer not be doing what he was supposed to do?

He hit his comms. "Brains, do you know where Virgil is?"

"S-Scott? I th-thought he was with you. G-Gordon said you needed help with One's interface."

"Nooo, I completed that half an hour ago. I'm working on Three now."

"Th-then I'm afraid, I do n-not know."

"Thanks, Brains. I'll see if I can find him."

He frowned and looked down at Kayo. "What does John say?"

"He didn't. Said he'd get back to me."

"What? What's got him busy?"

Again he hit his comms. "Thunderbird Five can you give me a location on Virgil."

"Scott? How is it going down there?"

Blink. "Thunderbird Five. It is going worried down here. Can you give me a location on Virgil, please."

There was a long moment there where he thought John was not going to answer. What the hell?

"Virgil is on Tracy Island."

"Why? He's supposed to be out here."

"Gordon needed his help with something."

"Gordon? Gordon is supposed to be out here, too."

"They are both on the Island. It was something urgent, apparently."

"It better be urgent. We are on a schedule here and we don't have time for any tomfoolery."

"Scott, we are all very aware of how important this is. I have no doubt Virgil and Gordon have a very good reason."

What was Gordon up to? It had to be Gordon. Virgil wasn't that stupid.

Virgil was the one he relied on for his sanity.

"Scott-"

"John can you put me through to Gordon?"

"He asked not to be disturbed for a half an hour."

"What?!"

"Scott-"

"What could possibly be more important than the Zero-XL?"

"It's only a half hour, Scott, he has a right to his privacy."

"Privacy?! What the hell, John, we are launching tomorrow!"

"Scott-"

"You know what? Screw it, I'll hunt them down myself."

"Scott!"

"Thunderbird One out."

The nerve. Just one more day! He climbed down, his feet hitting the platform with a thump. Kayo was staring at him warily.

"You know they have a right to personal time." Her voice was cool and calm, but her frown was anything but.

"Personal time starts when we get Dad back, Kayo. We are so close!"

Striding across to the pod dock, he climbed up into his helipod. "Tell Brains I'm going back to the Island for a moment to find my missing brothers."

"They have to have a good reason, Scott! This means as much to them as it does to you!"

"If it did, then they'd be out here."

He shoved the pod hatch closed, shutting off whatever it was she was trying to say.

A flick of a few buttons, he grabbed the yoke and launched towards home to find out what the hell was going on.

-o-o-o-


	2. Chapter 2

Using the exo-suit had been a mistake. Gordon struggled to reconcile what he was doing with what was best for his brother.

Virgil lay on his front snoring after Gordon had flown him back to the Island and helped him up here. The sounds Virgil had tried to smother on the way up just hurt.

Stubborn bastard.

Virgil had had to don his exo-suit to help Brains with the thruster assembly. Brains had no idea what he was asking his fellow engineer to do. The moment Gordon discovered what his brother was up to, he had dropped everything to do with his assigned task and done the best he could to help. But there was very little he could actually do other than watch his big brother hurt himself.

Usually the exo-suit interfaced with Virgil's uniform smoothly, protectively and effortlessly. With the bruising from a couple days previous, bruises that left an outline on his brother's body in an exo-suit shape, the pressure points had to be hell.

Virgil managed it for half an hour while Brains idly asked him to hold up the huge assembly and move it this way and that. Gordon, staring at his brother's face, saw the strain build, the shaking start...

He'd called it before his brother could fall on his face.

"Brains, Scott needs Virgil's help with Thunderbird One's interface. Can we borrow him a moment?"

"What? Oh, y-yes, certainly. V-Virgil, thank you for your h-help. C-could I ask for your assistance again in ab-bout three hours?"

"Sure, Brains." Virgil lowered the assembly, slowly and calmly to the decking.

The moment it was down, Gordon moved in, ushering Virgil back to his exo-suit station. The suit disengaged from Virgil's uniform and the man stepped away only to stagger to one side.

"Woah, Virg." Gordon grabbed him, steadying the engineer. "You need a break."

"I'm good. I need to help Scott." He turned towards where his brother was buried in the Zero-XL superstructure.

"Scott doesn't need you. I made up the excuse."

Virgil turned back. "What? Why?"

"Can you see yourself?"

Virgil looked down at his hands. "I'm fine. We need to get this done. Launch is tomorrow."

"You're not going anywhere looking like that, bro." A glance at his brother's hands. "Or shaking like that."

"I'm fine, Gordon." He turned to go back to his suit, but as if to prove the lie, stumbled and would have fallen if Gordon hadn't stepped in again.

"Virgil, I agreed to this only if you didn't endanger yourself or anyone else. You need to stop and rest, or I will get Scott to tell you to rest."

Vulnerable brown eyes flicked up at him. "You wouldn't."

"Only if I have to."

"We need to finish this tonight."

"We will, but you need to take some time out. You're shaking like a leaf."

"It was only the exo-suit. I'll work around it."

"Virgil! You are going back to the Island and you are resting."

His brother glared in defiance.

"How's the rib? You bust that and that's it. No trip. Not going." He hated the sudden fear that leached into his brother's eyes, but Gordon wasn't willing to risk a brother for this. His own life had been imperilled once already, no one else was going down. "C'mon, Virg. A rest and you'll be back at it. I promise."

Those eyes darted away from him, but he could see that the decision had been made. Quiet. "Okay. But only for an hour."

At this point, he'd grab at anything to get his brother resting. "Fine. Hop in your pod and I'll skip you over to the Island."

Flat-eyed stare. "I can fly myself."

For the love of- "Virg, just for once, can you trust me to make the right decision. This is on me, not you. I promised John I would look after you, and that is what I'm going to do. So, get your ass into the back of that pod and I will fly you home."

His brother blinked, but with a single nod backed down and did as he was told.

Okay, that worked. Gordon was a little shocked it did, but it did.

He tapped his comms. "Johnny, I'm taking Virg back to the Island for some downtime. Can you cover?"

"Gordon? What? How am I going to cover that?"

"Think of something."

"You want me to lie to Scott."

"Of course."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing unless he asks. I need some personal time. Something, whatever. Virgil used the exo-suit and I need to check the idiot over."

"I'm still not happy with this arrangement."

"Yeah, well, no one is. We're doing our best. Just cover us."

"I'll try."

"Don't try, do."

"Yes, coach."

"Shut up, John."

The line cut out and Gordon wondered if he had gone too far. John was the weakest point in this equation. The man wanted to tell Scott. Hell, Gordon wanted to tell Scott, for Virgil's sake. But...

Goddamnit.

He hurried over to his pod where Virgil had crawled into the backseat. He wanted to comment, to make some smart-ass remark, but the expression of pain on his brother's face was enough to freeze the words in his throat. Instead he just climbed in and calmly launched off the platform and headed back to the Island.

He was ever so glad he did. Virgil was so obviously fighting himself in every movement he made - to get out of the pod, the walk to the elevator, the handful of stairs, hell, Gordon had to help him onto the examination table.

Fortunately, the scans revealed no further damage and Gordon was able to usher his big brother into his rooms. A gentle rub of salve onto the worst of the bruises and Virgil, whether he wanted to or not, slipped into sleep.

Gordon was packing up when John commed him quietly. "Scott's on his way back."

"He is? Why?"

"Wants to know why you and Virgil aren't working."

"Are you kidding me? What is this, a fucking dictatorship?"

John only grunted before signing off.

Virgil stirred where he lay, restless. Damn.

Gordon grabbed the remainder of his supplies and let himself quietly out of his brother's rooms. A run back to the infirmary and he dumped them all on the bed. A dash down to the kitchen and an attempt to look busy as his brother strode into the room.

-o-o-o-


	3. Chapter 3

He found Gordon in the kitchen making a sandwich.

"What are you doing?"

His little brother half turned towards him as if surprised to see him. "Grabbing food. It is dinner time, you know."

"You are supposed to be finalising Four."

"I am. Cool it, bro. Everything is under control." As if to emphasise, he tossed a slice of ham into his mouth and sucked it in like a vacuum cleaner.

Scott's hackles rose just that extra millimetre. No doubt his experienced brother's intentions.

He shook it off. "Where's Virgil?"

"In his room digging up some engineering literature. Dragged him back to make sure he ate. He's as bad as you at looking after himself." His brother held out a completed sandwich. "Hungry?"

Scott stared at the food a moment as his stomach lurched in its direction. But no... "No, I'll eat later. I have to finish Three's integration first."

Gordon shrugged and took back the sandwich. "Suit yourself. Just make sure you do eat something before you fall over. We are kinda depending on our mighty leader in all this."

Scott grunted at him, frowning. Maybe Gordon was right. He was hungry and he was here. Might as well kill two birds with one stone and eat dinner. He had wanted to ask Virgil to check the welds on Three anyway before he proceeded to the next stage. Fifteen minutes now might save an hour later due to lack of energy.

"Okay, fine, hand me the bread and butter."

Gordon grinned at him, laid out two extra pieces of bread and reached for the butter.

"Oh, no you don't. You spread it too thick, you know I hate that." He grabbed the butter knife out of his brother's hand as the aquanaut smirked at him.

Several slices of ham and a handful of salad later and Scott sat down with his little brother and ate.

Okay, Gordon was definitely right. A fuelled body meant efficient operation. He stuffed most of the sandwich into his mouth before he realised something was missing...or rather who.

"Where's Virgil?"

"Looking stuff up. I told you that."

"But isn't he going to eat something?"

"He'll be down, don't worry." Gordon had mustard. Large dollops of mustard on his sandwich and several streaks on his face.

Scott raised an eyebrow. "You're wearing your dinner again."

"Shows I'm enjoying it." And he was presented with another Gordon trademark grin.

"If that is your excuse."

"Sounds good, so I'm sticking with it." He then smeared relish across the tip of his nose leaving it red like Rudolph the reindeer.

"Relish and mustard on the one sandwich?"

A shrug. "I like it spicy."

"Ergh." Scott shoved the rest of his down his throat and finished up his drink. Jumping to his feet he placed his plate and glass in the dishwasher and washed his hands. He stared up the stairs a moment before turning back to Gordon. "You sure Virgil is coming down? What's he looking up anyway?"

"You expect me to know? I speak marine ecology, not engineerese."

"He's not worried about the Zero-XL is he?"

"Uh, no?"

Scott frowned at Gordon. "What did he say?"

"Ummm..."

"Virgil has been living and breathing this ship since Brains gave the go ahead. We launch tomorrow. Why is he here and not over there helping Brains finish up?"

Another shrug. "Again, aquanaut not engineer." Gordon strode over to the freezer and yanked out a small tub. "Here, I found John's stash of Bailey's Ice Cream hidden in the hangar freezer. Would you believe he had it lodged behind the reserve coolant?"

Scott took the tub of decadent ice confectionery, the change in topic stalling him for a moment. "You stole John's ice cream?"

"Well, yeah, I have a reputation to maintain, after all. I don't even like Baileys, but hey, I found it. Want some?"

"So, you've got a death wish."

"Eh, he has to catch me first."

"He caught you last time. If I recall correctly, all your music playlists have been replaced by nursery rhymes."

"Yeah, that was a good one. You shoulda seen Virg squirm with all the ear worms."

"I did, see him. You are lucky he didn't see you. Have you found your player yet?"

"Sure did. Virg just doesn't have the true skill of good revenge."

"I wouldn't say that to his face."

Gordon waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, Virgil is a big softy. He won't hurt a fly, much less his itty-bitty little brother."

Another arched eyebrow. "I'll remember to put that on your gravestone on the day you go too far." He waved the ice cream tub away. "Keep it. John's wrath is a much larger concern. I want to be able to communicate with the outside world." He turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Virgil. I need him to check some of my work when we get back to the XL."

"Why don't you go back to the platform. I'll make Virgil some food, make sure he eats it and then return with him."

"Why?"

"Umm, I came over with Virg and left my pod on the platform? I kinda need a lift."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. But hurry up, we have a time limit here."

Gordon saluted sharply in a definite WASP style. "Yes, sir!"

"Move it, soldier."

Gordon let his body slouch, hunchback style and with an exaggerated limp, made it over to the refrigerator. "Yessssh, Masssster."

A grunt and Scott turned climbing the stairs two at a time, already running the next task through his head on the way to his pod. Eating had definitely been a good idea. He already felt much sharper. He should round up Alan, Kayo and Brains and make them take a break as well.

He was climbing into his pod when he remembered that one of the reasons why he wanted get Virgil to check his welds was because he had used the newer welding equipment. While it appeared to be welding fine, he meant to double check his settings with the engineer who was far more familiar with the equipment and he had been unavailable earlier…

He hit his comms. "Virg? You got a minute?"

No answer.

"Virg, you there?"

Nothing.

Okay, that was weird. He raised his hand to comm John, but remembered that his space brother was busy preparing Five for the XL. Which was likely why he had been so distracted when Scott contacted him earlier.

Scott mentally kicked himself. This project was so overwhelmingly important to him that sometimes he forgot how important it was to his brothers as well.

A sudden image of Virgil looking up at him kindly, but with just that ghost of worry in his eyes. It was a familiar sight in so many settings. His brother had been hovering around him for weeks now, reassuring, watching, supporting...

Aaargh. He jumped down from the pod and headed back into the villa. Gordon was nowhere to be seen. Probably took dinner up to Virgil, who was likely hip deep in a search for whatever it was he was looking for.

Scott ignored the elevator and bounded up the stairs to the residential level and into the corridor leading to Virgil's rooms.

Virgil's door was the most ornate of all those in the hallway. His brother had travelled to Japan for one of his periods of leave about four years ago and had come back so artistically inspired, he had churned out a dozen or so paintings and one intricately carved door.

The green dragon stared at him challengingly despite being slightly ajar.

There were voices beyond it.

Gordon's voice.

Virgil's voice.

"What the hell are you doing? Get back to bed."

"I need to get back out there. Scott is going to find out."

"He's fine. He's on his way back. Doesn't have a clue."

A lump formed in Scott's chest and climbed up his throat. What the hell?

"Gordon, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but I have to do this. This is for Dad - ah, ow, shit!"

"And this is for you! Now does that prove it to you enough yet? Get your ass back into bed before I haul Johnny down here and we drag you there."

There was the sound of heavy breathing and a grunt.

And Scott broke.

Heart beating a mile a minute, he shoved the door open.

-o-o-o-


	4. Chapter 4

The lump in his throat solidified at the sight of his two brothers glaring at each other. Virgil had one hand on the back of his couch, his head bowed until he registered Scott at the door. The brown eyes that looked up were so tired, Scott's heart broke in two.

But those eyes widened. A flash of fear, followed by horror, as Virgil straightened suddenly.

Gordon's head whipped around and a similar, if more cloaked expression flashed across his face before the more familiar disassembling flicked into place. "Hey, Scott. Weren't you on your way back to the XL?"

"What is going on?" His voice sounded hollow.

"Er, nothing? Virg was just finishing up looking for that info he needed. You did get it, didn't you?" Gordon's eyes prodded his big brother.

Scott's lips thinned as he turned back to Virgil. The big man was fiddling with the hem of his grey t-shirt. His hair was dishevelled and the smudges under his eyes almost black. Scott knew Virgil. He knew the man couldn't lie to save himself. He was the key. A glance at Gordon and the frown on the experienced obfuscator's face proved that.

Scott took a step forward. "Yes, Virgil, did you find what you were looking for?"

A subtle drop of those massive shoulders and Scott knew he had him. But...

Virgil straightened. "Yeah, I did. Was just heading back."

It hurt.

It really did.

"Virgil?" One last chance.

Those heavy eyes dipped just a little. "All good."

Whatever it was they were hiding from him, it was enough to force Virgil to lie to him to his face.

"What is going on?"

Predictably, Gordon stepped in front of Virgil and babbled something completely false. It had to be false. Virgil was still looking at the floor.

"Stop with the bullshit, Gordon. We don't have time for it." His eyes stayed pinned to Virgil.

"Scott, will you listen?!" And Gordon was in his face. "There is nothing 'going on'. We have to get back to work."

He pushed Gordon aside and took another step towards Virgil. "Stop lying to me."

"I'm not lying! We need to get back to work!"

That did it. He rounded on his little brother. "Get back to work?"

There must have been something in his voice because Gordon took a step back, wary.

Scott covered that step back with his own step forward. "Perhaps you can tell me what is so important that you and...Virgil..." His eldest brother visibly flinched. "...feel the need to hide it from me and lie to my face."

Something flickered in those russet brown eyes, his wily younger brother shifting gears. Yes, he could see it. He had been watching it for years. Wait for it.

"Lie to you? Not everything is about you, Scott!"

On to the offensive. Push buttons, distract, make him angry. It might have worked in another situation, but Virgil's slumped shoulders told another story.

"Save it." He brushed his little brother aside and took another step towards Virgil.

"Scott! For fuck's sake, will you listen?!" Gordon grabbed his arm as if to physically drag him away from his brother.

He spun. "No, Gordon, not until you stop talking bullshit! What are you hiding?" And he was looming over the smaller man. "We are launching tomorrow. I need to know that I can depend on those I'm flying with."

"You asshole." Those brown eyes lit on fire. "When have you ever not been able to depend on any of us? This isn't about you. This is about Dad. This is about all of us! We screwed up! We left our own father to rot out in space for eight fucking years and we can't fix it. I can't fix it. You can't fix it. All we can do now is go out there and hope to hell we don't find his desiccated corpse. It sucks. It really, really does, but you...you've been risking life and fucking limb for this since you found out. And we have been terrified. TERRIFIED! That we were going to lose you over this." Gordon's face filled his vision. "We have already lost Dad. There is a chance we might be able to get him back, but in the process lose the only father half of us have ever known! Do you get that, Scott?! Can you get that into your damned head?! That this risk, for ever so much we want it, would not be worth it if we lost you!"

And there were genuine tears in his brother's eyes.

Scott's mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Gordon blinked, gathering himself. "So, yeah, it's not about you, but it is. Please give us the benefit of the doubt for Christ's sake."

His brother turned away and headed towards the door. "I'm going back to Four. I need to finish up. I hear we're on a time limit." He shoved the door open. "You coming?"

Scott stared at his little brother. "Gordon, I-"

"Save it. I need a lift and you're it. Hurry up."

He found himself heading towards the door, his thoughts spinning in his head.

Gordon's eyes darted over Scott's shoulder for just a split second.

It was enough.

Virgil.

Scott spun.

His brother hadn't moved. Still standing there, silent, shoulders slumped under his grey undershirt, his hair a mussed mess as if he had been in bed.

In bed.

Scott turned.

"Scott-"

He held up a hand in Gordon's direction. "No."

"But-"

"NO!"

He strode over to Virgil, darting around the couch. Up close, his brother truly looked like shit.

"Virg?" He found himself looking into yet another pair of brown eyes looking for truth. "Tell me."

"Nothing to tell."

Those thick fingers were still fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt.

What would cause Virgil to go to these lengths to hide something? His eyes combed his brother, his heart sinking by the moment even as it recovered from the beating Gordon had just given it.

Quiet. "Why are you lying to me?"

"Scott, I-"

Virgil moved his head to the left as he squirmed under Scott's scrutiny and a dark smudge appeared at the neckline of that grey t-shirt.

Oh, god, no.

"Take off your shirt."

Please no.

"Scott-"

"Just do as I ask." His voice was a desolate sound.

Virgil wilted in front of him, a ragged breath forced out between his teeth. Out the corner of his eye, Gordon took several steps closer as Virgil reached for the hem of his shirt.

A blur of grey and his brother shed his cover.

"Fuck." The word was forced from Scott.

Virgil was almost blue up the length of his right side, his right arm a similar colour. His left side sported a dalmatian array of purple and red in a familiar pattern of exo-suit touch points.

"Virgil?"

Broken brown looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Scott."

-o-o-o-


	5. Chapter 5

Scott stared at his biggest little brother and found himself completely lost for words. The man was injured, obviously suffering, yet he had hidden it from him.

Why?

It was a small hurt voice at the back of his mind. Virgil, who he trusted with everything, who he relied on to be his second, especially now, with ever so much at stake.

That little voice, that same voice that hid in the box he had shoved it into the day his mother had died, piped up and and just started screaming.

But he was a grown man, a man of vast emergency experience. He had seen and done things that could curdle any other man's mind. He was Scott Tracy, Field Commander of International Rescue and the lid of that box slammed down so hard that voice barely had a chance to squeak.

His shoulders settled, his mask slipped into place.

One word.

"How?"

Virgil opened his mouth, but Gordon cut in. "It was my fault. A burning tree was falling and I had to get him out of the way, so I shot him with one of the pod grapple guns."

Scott turned ever so slowly to face his little brother. The worry on the younger man's face was plain. "When?"

"Last mission. The forest fire and the crablogger."

He turned back to Virgil. "It was not in your report."

"No." Virgil's usually deep voice was little more than a whisper.

"You hid this from me." Gordon knew. John had to know. Considering their deployment on the ground that day, Alan probably knew as well.

All four brothers had lied to him.

The hurt gouged a hole in his heart.

"Why?"

Neither brother answered. Virgil stared at the ground. Gordon had fear in his eyes.

"Why?!" The hurt slipped through in the form of anger and suddenly he was just boiling mad.

Virgil's voice was ever so quiet. "I can't stay behind."

Scott stared at him, his eyes widening. The rage disappeared, snuffed out like a candle in a downpour.

Somehow he found his voice. It came out scraping his throat. "How bad?"

Gordon answered. "Just bruising." A pause. "And a cracked rib. We just didn't want to worry you."

Scott stared at Virgil. His second stood slumped and dejected, the massive bruising little more than a reflection of his mood. "Go to bed."

Brown flickered up at him. "Scott-"

"Go to bed."

Those eyes dropped again, but his brother grabbed his shirt and made his way painfully back to his bedroom and shut the door.

That left Gordon.

"You and I need to talk."

The aquanaut actually visibly swallowed. "I'm sorry, Scott."

"Later."

"Scott-"

"Later! We have more important things to do right now and we are one man down, so move!"

It would have been comedic if it didn't hurt so much to watch his brother scramble and escape.

Left alone, the silence became claustrophobic. Scott stared at his brother's bedroom door for a whole second before turning and storming out of the room.

-o-o-o-

It was hours later, the Zero-XL finally ready for the following day, when Scott made it back to Tracy Island.

His thoughts were whirling in his head almost enough to make him dizzy. He felt betrayal, yet at the same time, there was fear. Virgil had never hidden anything from him before. Not anything serious. The idiot was known for ignoring his own health for the good of all but he wasn't stupid.

This was more.

With so much at stake, so much riding on what happened in the next twenty-four hours...

Scott let his fingers drop to the surface of his father's desk. Dad, what do I do?

He had asked that question so many times and still there was no answer.

The next step was always to turn to Virgil.

He closed his eyes and let his head drop.

"He's scared, you know."

The voice was quiet, totally lacking the smile it usually carried. It didn't suit the seriousness. Even hip deep in a rescue Gordon's voice was always bright, always spreading positivity with every syllable. But not now.

"That you won't let him go."

"He's injured." Instinct told him to protect. Virgil was his little brother as much as any of them.

"We knew you would react that way. That's why we didn't tell you."

"We." A single syllable with so much hurt.

Gordon took a step closer. "Scott, we are doing this as one. No one gets left behind."

"He's injured." It came out louder.

"Yes, he is, but he's coming with us."

"He'll be a...liability."

He deserved the scoffing laugh Gordon threw at him. "Are you kidding? This is Virgil we are talking about."

"Yes, it is."

Out the corner of his eye, Gordon straightened. "We are all going."

Scott straightened and turned. "Are you questioning me?"

"That depends." Those brown eyes were so resolute.

"On whether you agree Virgil should go or not."

The darkness outside threatened to reach in and swallow him. "It is my decision."

"Not this time."

"Gordon-"

"No, Scott. This is for all of us. We all need to find Dad."

"Not injured. Not risking his life!"

"We're all risking our lives! Have you stopped to think exactly how many things could go wrong on this rescue? Not only could we not find Dad, but we could join him on the list of the missing. Do you have any idea what that would do to Grandma?"

"Are you kidding me?! You think I'm going in blind? I know what is at risk, but it is worth it!"

"Anyone with half a brain would disagree with you."

He stared at his brother.

"But we don't care. We're in this, Scott. We are going to save Dad. But we go as one or not at all."

Gordon was so much shorter than him, but he took a step closer, straightened to his full height and stared down his eldest brother.

Scott was so tired. He stared at his furious sibling and suddenly just didn't have the energy anymore.

He turned away.

-o-o-o-

Virgil groaned.

His body hated him as much as he hated himself.

Movement hurt like hell, but he had to go out there and speak to Scott.

First he had to get out of bed.

He ended up rolling off the mattress onto the floor, barely catching himself.

His rib loved that.

On all fours, he pushed himself vertical, managing to only gasp once.

If he could barely get out of bed, how did he expect to get across the solar system?

He had to do this.

He had to.

His shirt covered up the worst of the bruises and a brief visit to the bathroom to wash his face and straighten up the mess on his head helped appear at least human. But staring into the mirror, all he saw was a sick man.

A sick man who was determined to go into space tomorrow.

Who was he kidding?

But the mere thought of being left behind terrified him. What if he was needed and wasn't there to help? What if his brothers never came back?

The fear clawed at his heart.

Please no.

He couldn't do it.

Not for a handful of bruises or stupid cracked rib.

Please. He had to go.

He forced himself straighter and watched his own face wince.

The house was quiet as he made his way through the residential levels, but that soon changed as he approached the comms room.

"Not injured. Not risking his life!"

Virgil paused by the entrance, out of sight, and listened to his little brother take on the lion of the family.

Scott was yelling. Gordon was yelling. They were fighting over him. They both loved him and were fighting for him in their own way.

He slumped against the wall and closed his eyes.

But suddenly everything went quiet.

"Scott?"

Gordon's voice was worried.

Virgil pushed away from the wall and peered around the corner.

Scott was slumped in his father's chair, his face in his hands.

Something cold crept into Virgil's heart.

"Scott?"

His little brother approached the desk and placed a hand on Scott's shoulder.

It was shrugged off wordlessly.

"Scott?"

"Just go." It was muffled by his brother's hands.

"Sc-"

"Go! For Christ's sake, just go away!"

Gordon took a step back. Virgil saw why and his heart broke.

He didn't hesitate to step into the room. "Gords?"

There was a touch of relief in the fear in his little brother's eyes when he realised Virgil was in the room.

"Go check on Allie, would you?" And keep the rest of the family clear? He put it all into his expression.

And Gordon caught it with his eyes. A brief nod and he backed away from Scott who was still hunched over in his chair, face once again hidden by his hands.

"Sure, Virg." Gordon quietly fled the room, worry in engraved on his face.

Virgil made his slow way over to his big brother, then past him and grabbed the piano stool. He found it hard to believe that several hours earlier he had been lifting several tonnes of thruster assembly and now his body was complaining about a single piano stool.

He dropped it down beside Scott with a clatter and sat himself down ever so slowly on top of it.

There he stayed for the next few minutes, not saying anything. Scott ignored him, shoulders hunched, head still in his hands, until Virgil reached out and gently laid his hand on his brother's shoulder.

The fine tremors under his finger tips tore at his heart.

"Scott?"

An incoherent sound was his only response.

Virgil squeezed his brother's shoulder ever so gently.

"Talk to me?"

Another grunt, but his brother looked up. Red rimmed blue eyes stared at him. "What do you want me to say?"

Virgil swallowed, fear and love tangled in his throat. "What do you want to say?"

An off centre laugh. "What do I want to say?" His brother shook his head and stared down at the desk top again. Voice a rasp. "I want to say 'Hi, Dad!' or 'Welcome home, Dad!', 'Great to see you, Dad!'" A harsh indrawn breath. "'Love you, Dad.'"

"We will find him."

"We."

A single syllable should not have enough room in it for that much accusation. Virgil's hand fell from his brother's shoulder.

"Scott-"

Ever so quiet, still staring at the desktop. "I wouldn't have left you behind."

"I-" Virgil frowned. "What?"

Those red rimmed eyes look up at him again, passion in their depths. "I would not have left you behind." Scott looked away, this time in the direction Gordon had fled. "But you didn't give me the chance to make that decision. Instead you lied to me." And the eyes were back at him, glaring accusation through his own.

"I-I'm sorry."

"You don't trust me."

"I do."

"No, you don't." A downward turn of his lips. "None of you do. Or you wouldn't have hidden your injuries from me."

"I didn't want to worry you."

Scott snorted mockingly. "Sure."

Virgil's lips thinned. "So you don't trust me." And yes, that hurt ever so much.

"Trust is a two way highway."

"You want to talk trust?" And yes, his voice was trembling all of a sudden, his throat tight. His half curled fist came down emphatically on the desk, not hard, not loud, but expressive enough. "Ever since we discovered there was a chance to find Dad, I have watched you fade into an echo of yourself. You've been so driven, so passionate and so focussed on this goal, you've terrified me." A harsh indrawn breath as his brother stared at him. "I've had to follow you around and patch fights, run interference, make sure you feed yourself. Your decisions have been shaky, you've been more reckless and impatient than I have ever seen you." He looked directly at those startled blue eyes. "But not once, not once, have I ever lost faith in you. I c-can't say I've followed every order to the letter, but then I never have." A helpless half smile. "But even now, I would follow you into the fires of hell itself, bruises, cracked rib or no." A wet blink. "You're not going without me. I can't stay behind. I couldn't live with myself if...if something happened and I wasn't there. This isn't about trust, Scott." A swallow. "It's about love. It's always been about love."

His brother turned their father's chair slowly until he was fully facing Virgil. Virgil didn't have that luxury or the energy to turn the piano stool. He sat somewhat hunched, staring at Scott, trying to ignore the complaints from a body that desperately needed a backrest to support it.

And suddenly that support was there. Scott was holding him, arms wrapped around his back. It hurt, but Virgil didn't care, leaning in and returning the hug. The tightness in his throat threatened to overwhelm him, but he fought it.

"I'm sorry." It was whispered and barely heard.

"Y-you don't have to apologise. Just...I'm here...'kay?" He had to swallow or lose it. He couldn't afford to lose it.

"I could never leave you behind."

"You don't have to. I'm here. We're all here."

"It's just...just been so hard." Scott was trembling again. "All those bruises...I thought...can't do this without you, Virg."

Virgil's grip tightened. "You don't have to. We're all here with you. We go together."

"What if...but what if...?"

"We will find him." Virgil straightened, drawing away just a little so he could see his brother's face. He latched onto those red rimmed eyes. "Together. Tomorrow. We will go out there and find Dad."

The steel crept back into his brother's eyes. "Yes, we will." Scott straightened, blinking a little. "And you need rest."

Virgil rolled his eyes, forcing the mood to lighten just a little. "I've had plenty of rest. You need food."

"After I've checked you out for myself."

"What?" But Scott was standing up and offering him a hand up.

Staring at his brother for a moment, Virgil took the hand and, holding his breath, levered himself off the stool.

Eagle blue eyes stared at him, gauging his every move. "Launch is going to be hell."

"Yeah, I know."

"Painkillers-"

"You know my answer to that one."

"Virgil, it's going to hurt like hell."

"I'll live. Had worse." He turned and began moving towards the kitchen, his intention to find food for Scott."

"Ah, no you don't." Scott's fingers wrapped around his bicep. "You and I are taking the elevator up to the infirmary and you are going to indulge my concerns by allowing me to run some scans for myself."

Virgil groaned, but considering the thin ice he was skating on, he relented. "But after, we're eating food. Real food."

"Deal."

-o-o-o-

Sleep was little to nothing for Scott that night. Too much was hanging on what happened the next morning.

He had dragged Virgil up to the infirmary and reassured himself that his brother wasn't hiding anything more serious than he had already admitted to. To be honest, his trust had been shaken. It hurt, but it wasn't irreparable. Getting out there, finding Dad and making it home with everyone safe and unhurt would go so far towards fixing a multitude of problems.

Please let all of them be safe.

The thought of trading one of his brothers for the chance of finding their father...

They had almost already lost Gordon. He didn't think he could take it again.

He closed his eyes and leant back on the outside wall of the kitchen. Alan was inside finishing up a few tasks left over from his last semester of high school. His little brother was going from high school kid to cutting edge astronaut in the same day.

Everyone was up. Likely all of them having as much trouble sleeping as Scott did. He'd left Virgil in the lounge resting. He could foresee so much glaring in the man's direction today.

But if today ended the way he hoped, he could afford the extra effort.

And the worry.

Gordon was in the pool, no doubt communing with the water before leaving the ecosystem. Gordon had never been a huge fan of space. Virgil could tolerate it, but those two brothers definitely preferred Earth over anything the cosmos could offer.

Except the chance to find their father.

Scott stepped away from the wall towards the pool, timing his approach to the point where his brother hit and flipped.

"Gordon."

He didn't have to yell, despite the fact his brother's head had been underwater the entire time. The fish knew he was here and had been for a some time, just watching the smooth strokes back and forth up the lane.

Strawberry blond hair surfaced with a flick and the distinct shape of wet shook hair gave his brother's coiffure its signature look. An idle thought wondered if GQ, which had featured the fourth Tracy on its cover a few months back, knew this 'highly technical' method of getting hair to stay in that style.

"Hey, Scott." It was said with fake joviality and a tremor of worry.

"I just wanted to say thank you."

That threw his little brother and Scott permitted an internal smile at his confused reaction. Wasn't often he got one up on Gordon.

"What?"

"For looking after Virgil."

Gordon's expression retreated and he looked down at the water he was floating in for just a moment. "Oh."

"Thank you for monitoring him and making sure he didn't do anything stupid."

"Eh, ah, what a bros for?"

"While I understand why you both did what you did, don't ever do it again."

Something must have flashed in his eyes because, Gordon startled before regaining his facade of calm. Though there was none of his usual amusement on his face.

"Fine. I can understand why you see it that way." He looked up and scoffed. "And I can see why you chose this moment to approach me, as if you weren't taller than me already." Gordon's frown narrowed. "But you should realise that any of us will do what is necessary to protect a brother and I would most certainly do what I did again."

The fish's glare was stubborn and as volatile as it could be.

Scott smiled just a little.

"Good. That's what I wanted to hear." And with that Scott turned away, heading towards the kitchen and ignoring the stunned expression on his little brother's face.

It was time to fly.

-o-o-o-

FIN.


End file.
